


Free

by coolios



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Character Study, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Swordfighting, but its short and poorly described
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-18 17:12:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21530407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolios/pseuds/coolios
Summary: Fitzroy has been on edge for a long time. His friends want to help him.
Relationships: Bud & Argo Keene & Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt
Comments: 14
Kudos: 171





	Free

**Author's Note:**

> i feel like this will not age well since i wrote it with only two episodes of knowledge but i had fun!  
> also hopefully there isn't too many errors its kind of late rn

The only time Fitzroy feels free is when he’s angry. He feels the most himself when he's fighting, bruised knuckles, and calloused fingers. Fitzroy hates being angry though. Even though the kicking and screaming and punching and swearing feels good at the moment, it makes him sick afterward. He looks at himself in the mirror and wonders why he acted like that.

Anger is beneath him.

Still, he’s angry all the time. Fitzroy hasn’t gone a day without being angry since he left Clyde Nite’s Night Knight School.

Fitzroy hates it at Wiggenstaff’s. He hates sharing a room. He hates the way no seems to listen or take him seriously. He hates how he feels like he’s on the verge of losing control at any second.

Fitzroy hears whispers about his “incident” the other day. He bounces his leg under the desk and smears ink all over the paper he’s supposed to be taking notes on.

Fitzroy tries to listen in class, but he can’t focus. He tries to work with Festo, but they don’t understand. Fitzroy tries to get along with his roommates. It’s hard to tell if Argo and the firbolg, Bud for now, like him or if they’re just getting good at tolerating him.

He tries so hard to not let his anger boil over.

Fitzroy's comments have a bit more bite to them lately, and his grades start to drop from A’s to B’s. Why won’t anyone talk to him about his damn credits? His clothes are too itchy and too tight, he doubts they have fabric softener here. No, he’s fine. Yes, he’ll stop tapping his pen against the desk. Yes, he’ll try to sit more still. No, he hasn’t had time to write to his mother yet.

“Hey, Fitz?” Argo whispers. The lights have been turned out for the night. 

“What?!” Fitzroy snaps.

“Could you, uh, maybe not cast prestidigitation right now?” Argo asks. Fitzroy stiffens in his bed as he watches the small sparks he didn’t know he was making fizz out in the air. “Thanks,” Argo says once the light disappears. “Are you okay?” 

“Yes!” Fitzroy says, too loudly, “I’m fine! I’m doing excellent actually! Even better than when you asked that yesterday!”

There is rustling from the floor, Bud turns to face Fitzroy in the dark. “Good. If you are fine, then you can stop being so tense.”

“Right, I’ll-“ Fitzroy runs his hands through his hair and sighs, “I’ll- Yes, I’ll work on that.”

“I think you are,” Bud pauses, “Not fine.”

“Yes,” Argo says, “I agree with our firbolg friend. You seem-“

“Angry?” Fitzroy offers through gritted teeth.

“Angry!” Argo repeats enthusiastically, “I think you need to let off some steam.”

“And how exactly, might you suggest I do that?” Fitzroy asks. The room grows quiet again then Argo abruptly stands up.

“Get dressed,” he says, there’s a mischievous grin on his face.

“Why?” Fitzroy asks, eyebrows furrowed.

Argo leads Fitzroy, and surprisingly, Bud out of their shared room. He refuses to say where he’s taking them the whole time.

They end up outside, at the patch of dirt used for training. Fitzroy shivers a little as the night air nips at him. “Okay, now what?” Argo walks over to the shed where the training swords and dummies are kept. “That’s locked,” Fitzroy says. Argo just laughs a little and pulls a pin out of his hair. The padlock opens and falls to the ground.

Fitzroy glances at Bud, the firbolg’s eyes are closed but he seems strangely content. Fitzroy doesn’t know why this seems to put him at ease.

Argo hands Fitzroy a sword, “You’re a knight, aren’t you?” 

“Well, no, not technically. Not yet,” Fitzroy takes the sword.

“Show me what you learned at Clyde Bright’s Fight Knight School or wherever you went,” Argo says, holding his sword up.

“It’s Clyde Nite’s Night Knight School."

“En garde!” Argo exclaims and starts running at the half-elf. Fitzroy blocks him easily. Argo doesn’t have years the years of meretricious training Fitzroy has, but the genasi has skill. He moves quickly and unpredictably. He almost has Fitzroy beat.

_Almost._

“Hah!” Fitzroy exclaims after he manages to knock the sword out of Argo’s hand in a moment of sheer luck. “That’s how you do it!” he yells. Argo claps and Bud does the same, his clapping is much slower.

“That was great!” Fitzroy says, laughing a little, he's drenched in sweat. “I haven’t-“ Fitzroy bites his lip. He feels different. He feels lighter and looser than he did a few hours ago. He’s smiling. “I haven’t felt like this in a long time,” he finally continues.

“And how do you feel?” Argo asks.

“Good,” Fitzroy lets out a deep breath, “Really good. Free.”

Argo claps his back, “Great!”

Bud lifts himself off the ground, “Yes, this is great.” He places a hand on Fitzroy’s shoulder, “Perhaps, we all go back to bed now.”

“Right,” Fitzroy nods, the smile doesn’t leave his face for the rest of the night.

**Author's Note:**

> me, to myself: you will not get better at writing if you never write. now sit down and write about the funky half-elf
> 
> i'm literally in love with graduation already? i cannot stop thinking about it. 
> 
> thank you for reading i love you


End file.
